Blogs

Bumbershoot (9/1-9/3) announced its 2012 music lineup today, featuring mainstage acts Jane's Addiction, Tony Bennett, Skrillex and more. On the regular lineup are The Vaselines, Blitzen Trapper and, of course, a few local acts, including, Damien Jurado, Sera Cahoone and THEE Satisfaction. And of course, there's also a very long list of groups to discover, if you haven't heard them yet. See the full list below, or watch this cute promo video which spells it all out with an old school flair.
Of note this year: certain days of the festival will feature (in addition to lots of other programming) a more specialized focus on blues, jazz or metal, for example, so hardcore fans of those genres can see more of what they want with less time cursing indie rockers. There's also late-night electronic music curated in partnership with the Decibel Festival, a new stage (The Promenade) planned outside McCaw Hall and a stage dedicated almost entirely to Sub Pop acts. More details and tickets at bumbershoot.org.
Read the current music lineup from the press release after the jump:

Yep, it's time to show mom how much you love her, and everyone and their mom wants to help you do it. Here are a few of the special Mother's Day dining events going around town.
Lunchbox Laboratory says, “Hey, Mom. Show us your tats!” Moms willing to reveal some inked skin on Mother's Day get to scarf down their divine burgers, hand-dipped shakes and other goodies at both the Seattle and Bellevue locations for free. lunchboxlaboratory.com

Wending through the creaky, unlit passages that served as intermissions during the nearly four-hour long Café Nordo’s Cabinet of Curiosities "show", I couldn’t stop thinking about Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

It's been quite a seven years for Michelle Quisenberry and her chef-husband Don Curtiss, and quite a seven years for Old Ballard Ave. When Volterra opened on the historic street in 2005, few of the current businesses had yet to open: no Bastille, Moshi Moshi, no Walrus & Carpentor or any of the slew of new bars and eateries farther south on that narrow road.

If this isn’t your first visit to our website, you’ve probably noticed things look a little different. Don’t worry, you aren’t having an episode. We have begun some pretty labor-intensive changes to our online presence.
In addition to improving our website’s overall navigation so it’s easier for you to browse the content you are most interested in, we’re working on a pretty thorough overhaul of our online archives and other digital tools. And we will continue to add new content every day.

Awesome as it is, most of us usually feel like we need a good reason to have dinner at the Space Needle's restaurant, SkyCity. Your Uncle Bob and Aunt Harriet are visiting from Muskogee. Your boyfriend wants to put a ring on it.

Bookstores are perfect spots to visit on bone-chilling days when the kids are jumping off the walls or on hot summer days when you’re searching for some air conditioning to cool down. Plus, you can kiss goodbye the days where book stores merely sold, well, books.

It's still a little random that American businesses widely observe Cinco de Mayo (and not actual Mexican Independence day: September 16). On the other hand, who wants to argue with an excuse to celebrate during the sober waking-nightmare we all silently suffer between St. Patrick's Day and the Fourth of July?
Just kidding.
Here's a few go-to places where you can be sure to observe the beloved tradition of knocking back tequila and tacos, no matter what day it is.

Film buffs who can hardly wait for SIFF should head to Langston Hughes Performing Arts Center. For one week, starting Friday (5/4-5/13), Restless City is returning to Seattle (since its debut at Langston Hughes African American Film Festival) for a local theatrical release, thanks to LHPAC's ongoing affiliation with AAFRM (African-American Film Release Movement).

When I sat down this afternoon to peruse the runway looks from last Friday's Luly Yang Couture Fashon Show, I was hoping to narrow down my favorites to a neat, tidy top five list. You’ll just have to indulge me with nine.

The Bob Rivers Show introduced Seattle to its "new and improved" super villain this morning: Rex Velvet.
Sporting a bad English accent and vague inclinations to nurture "evil" in the community, Velvet was soon unmasked and revealed to be a professional wedding photographer by day. That might explain his connections to some talented filmmakers. Here's the video he posted on YouTube yesterday:

Remember that scene from Tim Burton’s Batman, in which the Joker orders his bomber-jacket clad henchmen to dump a bunch of money onto the streets of Gotham?
Removing all nefarious intentions, and pretending there are well-meaning nonprofit managers on the street below, not greedy movie extras – that crazy money-distributing mad man or woman could be you on May 2, should you choose to participate in Seattle Foundation’s Give Big day.